


Episode Three: "You're Hiding Something From Us, Aren't You?"

by iriswrites



Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [4]
Category: Original Work, SKAM (Norway), SKAM (TV) RPF
Genre: ALSO TW FOR BODY STUFF IN CLIP ONE, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Character of Color, Canon Lesbian Character, Gen, Multi, a lot of people that i know have beef with brockton so like...sorry y'all, i cannot stop thinking about that goddamn debate, it's all about the failed love stories my friends, literally justice for chris wallace, skam 2x03, this is very much just me trying to put people on classical music, yes i'm hindu yes i'm gonna talk about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iriswrites/pseuds/iriswrites
Summary: Rubina Patil’s already made a plan for the next two years: work her way into the running for valedictorian, get into Barnard on the pre~med track, and get the hell out of Massachusetts. Yeah, she’s constantly stressed out, and counting calories is the only thing that keeps her in control of her life, but it doesn’t matter. When she gets these three things, she can relax. Until then, she’ll just keep on working.Elias Rivera is not a part of this plan. Ruby shouldn't even be thinking about him. He's just another worry on her brain, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't get him off of her mind.Control. That's what Ruby will get. She'll stop at nothing to achieve that.Too bad her body's got other plans.
Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879771
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Easily

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 9:37 A.M.

INT. BATHROOM

 _Easily_ by Bruno Major plays quietly under the sounds of a tap running, and the camera shifts to RUBY standing over the sink, scrubbing at her hands.

She's intently focused, a little too much so~~her hands are turning red, and steam is coming from the heat of the water. After a moment, she leans down and washes her face, not bothering to turn the heat down.

When she's done, she stands up straight, fixing her ponytail. She grabs a hoodie from where it was sitting on top of the closed toilet and sets it on the counter, pulling her shirt off, leaving her in a sports bra.

She stares at herself for a very long moment, her hands on the counter. Her expression is unreadable, but it's not neutral. Slowly she moves her hands from the counter and lightly rests them on her stomach.

Her face doesn't change much; if anything, it becomes even more confusing. She sucks in her stomach once and holds it there for a moment before breathing out. Her expression shifts to something almost angrier before she picks up the hoodie and pulls it over her head, cutting to black as it covers her eyes.

INT. GRACIELA'S BEDROOM

RUBY enters GRACIELA'S bedroom, where the other girls are all in various positions. GRACIELA is sitting cross legged on her bed, HOLLY is spinning around in a desk chair, KARIMA is sitting on the floor in a hoodie, and JULIET'S lying on the floor, her feet in KARIMA'S lap.

HOLLY:  
Where'd you go?

RUBY shrugs.

RUBY:  
Had to pee. Why?

KARIMA:  
Nothing big. I think that your brother was on the phone.

GRACIELA looks up.

GRACIELA:  
Yeah, he called the landline. Said that he called you, like, three times, but you didn't pick up.

RUBY frowns.

RUBY:  
That's weird.

She pulls out her phone from her pocket and presses the power button. Nothing comes on.

RUBY:  
It's dead.

GRACIELA lifts her hands up, and RUBY tosses the phone to her. GRACIELA catches it, putting it on the charger next to her.

GRACIELA:  
You should probably call him back before this charges, though. It seemed pretty urgent.

RUBY:  
Really?

GRACIELA:  
I'm not sure what exactly he was saying, because my mom picked up, but he was pretty loud.

RUBY smiles, rolling her eyes.

RUBY:  
My brother's always loud.

She turns towards the door, but JULIET calls out.

JULIET:  
Hey, will you get me some Cheetos?

RUBY stops in the doorway, giving JULIET a weird look.

RUBY:  
What?

JULIET:  
Yeah. Hot Cheetos, not the regular ones. I saw some in the cabinet last night, but I didn't have time to grab them.

KARIMA:  
You want them _now?_

JULIET:  
Um...yes?

RUBY:  
Jules, it's ten in the morning.

JULIET:  
I'm aware.

HOLLY:  
Shouldn't you maybe eat breakfast first?

JULIET:  
I'm not gonna eat them _now._ I just wanna put them in my bag. My dad's girlfriend is some giant health freak, and he thinks that whatever comes out of her mouth is the gospel, so he threw away all of my snacks.

RUBY snorts.

RUBY:  
You probably should've started with that.

JULIET:  
Maybe. Will you get me the Cheetos?

RUBY:  
Sure.

JULIET shoots her a thumbs up, and RUBY turns out the door and walks into the kitchen. LUCIA is sitting at the table, sorting through a stack of mail. She looks up when she hears RUBY and smiles.

LUCIA:  
Good morning!

RUBY smiles back.

RUBY:  
Morning, Mrs. Flores. Graciela said that my brother called?

LUCIA:  
Mmm, right. Did you call him back?

RUBY:  
Couldn't. My phone's dead. Can I borrow your landline?

LUCIA:  
Sure.

RUBY grabs a bag of Cheetos off of a shelf and then walks towards the counter where a landline phone is sitting and picks it up. She dials a number and holds the phone up to her ear, letting it ring.

After a moment, the phone picks up.

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
Hello?

RUBY:  
What's up?

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
For fuck's sake, Ruby, where have you been all night?

RUBY:  
Um...Graciela's?

KARTHIK sighs.

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
So you weren't, like, partying or anything?

RUBY:  
No?

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
_Good._ You're lucky that Baba left early for work this morning.

RUBY:  
I literally told Niki that I was sleeping over here.

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
Well, Niki hasn't been here all night, so~~

RUBY:  
Where the fuck has she been?

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
I don't know? I don't know where she is all the time.

RUBY:  
Well, is she okay?

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
Yeah, she texted me to ask if I could pick up ramen this morning, so she's probably still alive.

RUBY rolls her eyes.

RUBY:  
I'll be home soon. If anyone asks, I went to the library.

KARTHIK (O.S.):  
Got it.

RUBY:  
Thanks, bye.

She hangs up the phone and puts it away, smiling apologetically at LUCIA before heading back to GRACIELA'S room.

INT. GRACIELA'S BEDROOM

The girls are in the same positions as they were earlier, but they're now engrossed in a conversation.

HOLLY:  
I'm just _saying,_ if there had been a better moderator~~

KARIMA:  
What kind of moderator knows how to deal with that?

HOLLY:  
It might have gone a little smoother!

GRACIELA:  
Girl, I'm just excited for Kamala and Pence's debate. She's gonna wipe the floor with him.

JULIET:  
I've literally never even heard that guy talk.

KARIMA:  
No one has.

RUBY enters the room, throwing the Cheetos to JULIET and organizing her things.

RUBY:  
I've gotta go soon. Apparently my sister didn't tell anyone that I was sleeping here?

GRACIELA:  
Your sister's hilarious.

RUBY:  
Yeah, until she forgets to pick you up from a six hour rehearsal because she wanted Chick~fil~A.

HOLLY:  
Isn't she literally~~

RUBY:  
Chicken doesn't taste as good if it's not homophobic, according to her.

JULIET bursts out into laughter, and KARIMA stares at her incredulously.

RUBY:  
And to be honest, Holly? The real victim of the debates was Chris Wallace.

JULIET wheezes, and RUBY smiles a bit, looking down as the camera pans away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to write a trump having covid joke but i forgot that this takes place in a magical universe where covid doesn't exist so


	2. Brockton

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 8:38 A.M.

EXT. COURYARD

A bell rings as RUBY, GRACIELA, and KARIMA are all standing together, talking quietly. After a moment, HOLLY runs up to them, pulling JULIET behind her.

HOLLY:  
Did you guys hear?

KARIMA:  
About what?

HOLLY:  
About...

Her voice drops in excitement.

HOLLY:  
The _fight._

RUBY:  
What?

HOLLY:  
Like, everyone's talking about it! Have you _seen_ Julian?

GRACIELA:  
I try not to.

JULIET snorts, but tries to hide it. HOLLY shoots her a look.

HOLLY:  
It's not funny, alright? He took down, like, three kids from Brockton and still made it out alive. It's honestly impressive.

RUBY:  
Fighting isn't impressive.

GRACIELA:  
[diverting] What the hell happened?

HOLLY:  
I don't know! Everyone was talking about it on the T this morning, though. I heard that one of the other guys ended up in the _hospital._

KARIMA:  
When was it?

HOLLY:  
Last night, I think. I don't even know if it was a fair fight. There were, like, ten Brockton kids, and then just Julian and Elias and a couple of other kids~~

GRACIELA:  
Elias wasn't there.

HOLLY:  
He wasn't?

GRACIELA:  
Nah, he was at my place last night. Why'd you think he was there?

HOLLY:  
Because I asked him for the history pages last night and never got a response, so I just figured...

GRACIELA:  
Oh, no, his phone's broken. Like, completely smashed. My mom's pissed.

JULIET:  
_Fuck,_ man, what'd he do?

GRACIELA snorts.

GRACIELA:  
Dropped it down, like, three flights of stairs on Sunday. It was hilarious.

HOLLY:  
Okay, well, that makes it even _worse!_ How many people was Julian up against?

RUBY:  
He wasn't with anyone else?

KARIMA:  
He has other friends, Holly.

HOLLY:  
Yeah, but...it's still a lot. And I'm worried about him. He's a jerk, but that doesn't mean he deserves to get hurt.

A beat. KARIMA gives her a look, and HOLLY sighs.

HOLLY:  
...also Mason needs to get a photo of the football team for the yearbook and it's not gonna be as good without the quarterback.

KARIMA smirks.

KARIMA:  
There it is.

HOLLY:  
But that's _besides the point!_ He could literally be dead right now!

RUBY:  
We probably would've heard about that by now.

HOLLY:  
_Ruby._

GRACIELA:  
Look, do you want me to text Elias?

KARIMA:  
You just said that his phone was broken.

GRACIELA:  
He took his brother's. Holly, what do you want me to say?

HOLLY:  
I don't know. Is Julian alive?

GRACIELA:  
Okay.

She pulls out her phone, and RUBY reads over her shoulder. GRACIELA pulls up a conversation with someone named "sebastian >:(" and types out "yo is julian alive", pressing send.

GRACIELA:  
Sent it. Wanna tell us more about Mason, Holly?

HOLLY blushes.

HOLLY:  
No...

JULIET:  
Come on~~

The phone buzzes, and HOLLY glares at JULIET.

HOLLY:  
What'd he say?

GRACIELA:  
[reading it out] "I don't know, I haven't seen him, do you have _Macbeth_ on you..."

HOLLY:  
Useless. He's useless.

GRACIELA:  
You're telling me?

The phone buzzes again.

HOLLY:  
What now?

GRACIELA:  
He can see us and wants _Macbeth._

HOLLY groans.

RUBY:  
I still have zero idea why you care so deeply about Julian's well~being.

KARIMA:  
Yeah, like...he's a major douchebag, so...

HOLLY:  
I don't care about _him._ I care about the yearbook.

JULIET:  
I hope he's not dead. He basically bullied my APUSH group into doing the project. I kind of appreciated it.

RUBY:  
That's the only reason?

JULIET:  
No, but if he dies, that's his fault~~

HOLLY:  
[suddenly] _Elias!_

RUBY turns around to see ELIAS in front of them, zipping up GRACIELA'S backpack with a copy of _Macbeth_ in his hands.

ELIAS:  
Hey, Holly.

HOLLY:  
Do you know if Julian's alive or not?

ELIAS:  
I don't know. If he is, I'm gonna kick his ass.

KARIMA snorts, but tries to hide it. RUBY raises an eyebrow.

RUBY:  
You...

ELIAS'S eyes flick upwards before looking away, giving GRACIELA her backpack back.

ELIAS:  
I mean, he knew better than to get involved. It didn't have anything to do with him. And now he's wrapped me up in it, so...yeah. I'm gonna kick his ass.

JULIET:  
Like, they're gonna try to fight _you?_

ELIAS:  
I guess.

GRACIELA:  
[slightly worried] Is that a good idea? A lot of those guys can get away with it, but if you...

She doesn't finish her sentence. The meaning hangs over the six of them, though.

ELIAS:  
[unbothered] I'll be fine.

He looks down at the book in his hands.

ELIAS:  
Yeah. I'll be fine.

He looks up.

ELIAS:  
I'm gonna go. See you around.

He waves as he walks off, and KARIMA turns back towards JULIET.

KARIMA:  
How'd you do on the practice test?

JULIET:  
I didn't finish it.

KARIMA:  
You...

JULIET:  
What? I got bored.

KARIMA:  
You can't get bored of an _SAT practice test!_ What's gonna happen on the actual day of it?

JULIET shrugs.

JULIET:  
I don't know. Wing it.

KARIMA:  
You've gotta be fucking kidding me right now.

JULIET rolls her eyes, laughing, as KARIMA continues ranting at her, but the conversation fades out as RUBY looks off in the direction ELIAS walked off in. Her eyes are troubled, but it's unclear with what.


	3. Untitled

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 7:40 P.M.

INT. BEDROOM

 _Untitled_ by Rex Orange County plays quietly as RUBY walks into her bedroom, her hair wrapped in a towel and wearing an old t~shirt and sweatpants.

She drops her phone onto her bed and heads towards the dresser.

She unwraps her hair and picks up a hairbrush, brushing through it.

After a couple of moments, she puts the brush down and squirts some lotion from a bottle onto her hand.

She applies it very carefully onto her face, closing her eyes as she spreads it on. When she's done, she puts the excess lotion on her arms and pushes the bottle back.

As she does, her gaze catches on a photo in a silver picture frame behind the lotion. It's a black and white photo of RUBY one year prior with VIVI.

The two of them are laughing, VIVI looking right at the camera and RUBY looking at her.

RUBY stares at the picture for a moment and then reaches out, letting her fingers brush across the photo.

She hooks her fingers on the edge of the picture frame and picks it up, folding the back down and opening up the a drawer.

She stares at the photo for a second longer before dropping the photo into the drawer and shutting it tightly. The song fades out.

She looks up and reaches out towards a small Ganapati statue on her dresser, before bringing her hands together in a prayer.  


RUBY:  
 _Sukhkartha dukhharta varta vighnachi..._

She continues the prayer very quietly, her eyes squeezed shut, as the song kicks back in and the camera pans away.


	4. She's Complicated

THURSDAY, 12:44 P.M.

INT. CAFETERIA

RUBY, GRACIELA, and HOLLY are all sitting at a cafeteria table, GRACIELA eating a slice of pizza and HOLLY with a binder in front of her.

HOLLY:  
So...we'll get there on Sunday, yeah? Monday's a holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday are PD days, and then...

GRACIELA:  
[chewing] We're off on Thursday and Friday anyways.

HOLLY:  
We are?

RUBY:  
Yeah. There's no point of a two day week, so they just gave us the whole week off.

HOLLY:  
Cool. I'll text my sister.

HOLLY scribbles something down in her binder and then closes it, stealing a fry from GRACIELA'S lunch tray. GRACIELA smacks her hand away.

HOLLY:  
Where are we meeting tomorrow?

RUBY:  
For what?

GRACIELA:  
Julian's basically taking over Elias's place and throwing some huge party. [to HOLLY] My house, duh.

HOLLY:  
Why _do_ you guys live so close, anyways?

GRACIELA:  
When they moved here they wanted to be closer to us, I guess. There was an apartment for sale and the price was good, so they took it.

RUBY:  
Wait, so Julian's just...partying at someone else's house?

GRACIELA:  
Anything to get my other cousin out of the house. You're coming, right?

RUBY:  
Um...

She shrugs.

RUBY:  
I've got a lot of studying to catch up on, so...

HOLLY:  
Come _on,_ Ruby! You never want to go out with us anymore!

RUBY:  
That's not true!

HOLLY:  
Yes, it is! You're always studying, or the party's never your scene or something! Your homework can wait one night.

RUBY:  
I just want to get it over with.

HOLLY:  
You're hiding something from us, aren't you?

RUBY:  
What? No!

GRACIELA:  
Mhmm. Are you sure it isn't...

She wiggles her eyebrows, and RUBY groans.

RUBY:  
No. No boyfriend.

GRACIELA:  
Fine, a girlfriend.

HOLLY gasps.

HOLLY:  
That girl that's in half of your Instagram posts! What's her name again? Violet?

RUBY swallows.

RUBY:  
Vivi. Um, it wasn't...

She struggles for a bit.

RUBY:  
She didn't...it was...

GRACIELA:  
[gently] Complicated?

RUBY nods, grateful.

RUBY:  
Yeah. She was...she's complicated.

HOLLY:  
Shit, I'm sorry.

RUBY:  
[tightly] It's fine.

HOLLY:  
Well, if you ever want...I don't know, _someone,_ let us know and we can probably find someone. 

RUBY smiles.

RUBY:  
You'll find someone.

HOLLY:  
Yeah!

GRACIELA:  
Maybe leave the matchmaking up to me, Holls.

HOLLY:  
What? Why?

GRACIELA:  
Girl, you had a crush on my _cousin._

HOLLY:  
Okay? So did, like, half the school.

RUBY:  
I...don't think that helps your case, Holly.

HOLLY:  
[laughing] That doesn't mean anything!

GRACIELA:  
...doesn't it?

GRACIELA and HOLLY laugh again, and RUBY smiles too as the camera pans away.


	5. Friends

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 9:41 P.M.

INT. LIVING ROOM

RUBY and NIKITA are both on the couch, RUBY's feet in NIKITA'S lap as an episode of _New Girl_ plays in the background.

NIKITA is actively paying attention while RUBY scrolls absentmindedly through her phone. At one point, NIKITA laughs.

NIKITA:  
This is better than _Friends._

RUBY:  
Obviously. _Friends_ sucks.

NIKITA:  
It doesn't _suck._ It's just overrated.

RUBY:  
The characters are boring and the jokes are bad. This is _way_ better.

NIKITA:  
Mhmm.

They fall into a comfortable silence, RUBY still looking at her phone. She goes onto Instagram, where pictures of the girls, OWEN, and ISAAC, are shown.

NIKITA:  
[after a moment] How's school?

RUBY:  
Hmm?

NIKITA:  
School. Are you doing okay?

RUBY:  
Why?

NIKITA:  
I don't know. You always seem a little stressed.

RUBY:  
That's junior year for you.

NIKITA snorts.

NIKITA:  
Fuck high school.

RUBY:  
Literally.

Another comfortable silence. NIKITA goes back to watching the show. After a moment, a text lights up on RUBY'S phone from KARIMA: "something went down with graciela and isaac. i have to keep an eye on juliet so i can't go check on them and idk where holly is, can you come?"

RUBY'S eyebrows raise, and she swings her legs off of the couch and stands up.

RUBY:  
I'll be right back.

NIKITA nods, and RUBY disappears into the bathroom.

INT. BATHROOM

RUBY closes the door and leans against it, dialing GRACIELA'S number. The phone rings before it goes straight to voicemail.

She dials ISAAC'S number next, but he doesn't pick up. She groans, shoving her phone into her pocket and walking out of the bathroom.

INT. LIVING ROOM

RUBY stops in front of the couch, and NIKITA looks up expectantly at her.

RUBY:  
Can I get a ride?

NIKITA:  
...why?

RUBY:  
Something happened at this party that my friends are at and I need to go.

NIKITA:  
Um, sure. Where is it?

RUBY:  
Graciela's apartment building. You know the one, right?

NIKITA:  
I think so, yeah.

She stands up and stretches, shutting the TV off and reaching for her keys.

NIKITA:  
You owe me, though.

RUBY is already halfway out the door.

RUBY:  
Whatever!

EXT. STREET OUTSIDE APARTMENT BUILDING

RUBY gets out of a car and steps onto a street, walking towards the building with her head down and her hands in her pockets.

She stops abruptly as she notices a couple making out messily near a couple of bushes. She raises her eyebrows, a bit shocked, before heading into the building.

INT. FRONT ENTRANCE

RUBY enters the apartment as _Pink Lemonade_ by The Wombats plays loudly and a bunch of teenagers dance around, drinks in their hands.

She notices ELIAS sitting on the floor behind a group of girls, on his phone and looking surprisingly small. She frowns slightly, but her attention quickly shifts when JULIET flies towards her, throwing her arms around her.

JULIET:  
Ruby!

RUBY stumbles back slightly, catching JULIET and holding her back before she falls.

RUBY:  
I thought Karima was with you!

JULIET:  
She went to the bathroom or something, I don't know.

She points into the crowd towards NICO COLE, who's clutching a drink in his hands and looking slightly nervous.

JULIET:  
You know Nico, right?

RUBY sighs, slightly relieved.

RUBY:  
Right. Yeah. I know Nico.

She lifts her hand up, trying to get his attention. He notices and comes over to them.

NICO:  
Yeah?

RUBY:  
Will you keep an eye on her? Karima Shahid will be here soon, I think.

NICO:  
[slightly surprised] Of course.

RUBY:  
If you do anything to her I swear I'll kill you.

NICO:  
Why would I~~that's _awful._

RUBY:  
I'm just making sure. Jules, do you have your phone on you?

JULIET:  
Holly had it, but I don't know where she went...

RUBY:  
Okay, um...

She thinks for a moment before shrugging off her cardigan and handing it to her.

RUBY:  
My phone's in there. If you need anyone...

JULIET:  
No, no, stay with me! We'll have fun! All of us!

NICO smiles, confused.

NICO:  
I think you need to sit down.

JULIET:  
_No..._

NICO nods at RUBY as he gently pulls JULIET over to a couch. RUBY takes a deep breath before power walking through the crowd and towards ELIAS.

He looks up at her, confused, before standing.

ELIAS:  
What's up?

RUBY:  
Do you know what happened to Graciela and Isaac?

ELIAS:  
Yeah, she punched someone.

RUBY:  
She _what?  
_

ELIAS:  
Some guy was coming onto her or something and Isaac tried to get him to leave her alone, and then the other guy started shitting on Kailey and she punched him.

RUBY:  
Like...Isaac's sister? Why?

ELIAS shrugs.

ELIAS:  
Don't know. People aren't great about her situation.

RUBY:  
Her situation?

ELIAS:  
Yeah, you didn't know?

RUBY:  
I don't know her that well. Where is she now?

ELIAS:  
She and Holly left together. I think that they're planning something for that concert thing so she's sleeping over there tonight.

He trails off, his eyes widening, and RUBY turns around to see a couple of POLICE OFFICERS making their way towards them.

RUBY:  
What are they doing here?

ELIAS:  
I don't know yet.

RUBY:  
Are you gonna~~

ELIAS:  
They've been here before. I'll be fine.

RUBY:  
But~~

She doesn't finish her sentence as ELIAS moves past her and towards the officers. They're not close enough to see her, but she's still able to hear them. ELIAS seems familiar with the officers, but not comfortable.

OFFICER:  
We got a noise complaint. Where's your brother?

ELIAS:  
He's not here. This is mine.

The officer looks mildly confused, but nods anyways.

OFFICER:  
Well, uh...just get everyone out of here and quiet down, alright?

ELIAS nods, and the officers move away from him as he pushes through the crowd, looking for JULIAN.

RUBY stands there for a moment, just breathing, before she makes her way towards where she had left JULIET. To her surprise, NICO is the only one there.

RUBY:  
Where's Juliet?

NICO:  
Your friend came and got her and they left. Karima, right?

RUBY:  
Yeah. You're sure it was her?

NICOLAS:  
Yeah, I know her. She's in my art class.

RUBY looks slightly relieved.

RUBY:  
Cool.

A beat. Her eyes widen.

RUBY:  
Was she wearing my jacket?

NICO:  
She was wearing _a_ jacket.

RUBY:  
Yellow cardigan with pockets?

NICO:  
I think so, yeah.

RUBY:  
_Fuck.  
_

She turns around quickly, seeing a bunch of teenagers making their way towards the door, and then turns back around, looking for NICO~~but he's disappeared.

Her fists clench and she whirls back around, only to come face to face with ELIAS.

ELIAS:  
Ruby?

RUBY:  
Can I borrow your phone? I just...I need to call my parents.

ELIAS raises his eyebrows, but he nods, taking his phone out of his pocket and handing it to her.

ELIAS:  
I'm gonna go see if the police need me.

RUBY nods shakily, dialing a number as ELIAS disappears into the remaining crowd. She holds the phone up to her ear, waiting as it rings. No one picks up, and she groans. The phone beeps.

RUBY:  
Hey, it's Ruby. I, um...

She swallows.

RUBY:  
I don't have my phone on me anymore, I gave it to my friend and she went home with it...but I'm at this party and all of my friends are gone, and I don't have any money, and it's too late to walk back...will you call me back when you get home? Don't tell Aai, she'll kill me.

She hangs up the phone and holds it, waiting for ELIAS to come back, but something in the kitchen catches her eye. She walks forward just enough to be able to see what's going on, but not close enough to be noticed.

INT. KITCHEN

JULIAN is making out with one girl, the other one watching them. He then turns to the other girl and kisses her for some time. RUBY watches, her eyes widening in disgust.

ELIAS (O.S.):  
Jesus _Christ._

RUBY looks behind her to see ELIAS, who's slightly uncomfortable but once again, familiar with this. JULIAN breaks away, grinning at ELIAS.

JULIAN:  
Don't use the Lord's name in vain, Elias.

ELIAS rolls his eyes.

ELIAS:  
You gotta go, man.

JULIAN:  
Fuck, really?

ELIAS:  
Yeah. Next time, can you use your own house?

JULIAN shrugs, taking one girl by the hand and pulling her out of the room. The other girl follows, and ELIAS rolls his eyes.

RUBY:  
Doesn't he have a girlfriend?

ELIAS:  
Who, Maddie? _  
_

RUBY nods, and ELIAS shrugs.

ELIAS:  
They were on and off the whole summer. I don't even know what they are at this point.

A beat.

ELIAS:  
So did you call your parents?

RUBY:  
Yeah, but no response. My dad's probably still at work, so...

ELIAS nods for a moment. He busies himself with clearing off the counter as RUBY leans against it and looks around.

RUBY:  
What time are your parents getting back?

ELIAS:  
They're not. Do you want something to drink?

RUBY:  
I don't drink.

ELIAS:  
I meant, like, water or tea or something. I don't drink either.

RUBY:  
You have tea?

ELIAS shrugs.

ELIAS:  
I like it.

RUBY:  
So where are your parents then?

ELIAS:  
Um, my dad works in New York most of the year. He comes back for like Christmas and my birthday.

RUBY:  
And your mom?

ELIAS:  
[quickly] My brother goes to BC right now, so he stays with me. Or, at least, he's supposed to. And my sister's in Michigan right now. She's gonna develop software or something. Do you want tea?

RUBY frowns, but she lets it go for the moment.

RUBY:  
What kind do you have?

ELIAS:  
I don't know. Mint, lavender, whatever. This lady at the grocery store told me which ones help you sleep.

RUBY:  
You have green?

ELIAS:  
I think so. Let me check.

He opens a cabinet, looking for it, and RUBY fixes her eyes on a picture on the wall. It's of ELIAS and GRACIELA, maybe around seven years old, with LUCIA and a similar looking woman's arms around them.

She smiles slightly as ELIAS pulls a box out of the cupboard and holds it out to her.

ELIAS:  
Here.

RUBY:  
Thanks.

He hands her a mug and turns around to get a kettle ready. RUBY looks at another picture of a soccer team, featuring OWEN, ISAAC, BENJAMIN, FRANKIE, and ELIAS.

RUBY:  
Is that from this spring?

ELIAS:  
Hm?

He looks at the picture.

ELIAS:  
Oh. Yeah.

RUBY:  
I thought that Julian played?

ELIAS snorts.

ELIAS:  
No way. He plays football and shit.

RUBY:  
I take it you don't like football.

ELIAS smiles.

ELIAS:  
That would be a fair assumption, yes.

He holds out the kettle to her, and she drops a tea bag into her mug as he pours water into it before making his own. They wait a long moment before RUBY takes a sip from hers.

RUBY:  
Why doesn't your dad work here though?

ELIAS:  
I mean, he's got a good job there. And I don't think that he was ever equipped to put up with me by himself.

RUBY:  
[teasingly] You're that annoying, aren't you?

ELIAS laughs.

ELIAS:  
Exactly.

A beat.

RUBY:  
Has my dad called back yet?

ELIAS shrugs.

RUBY:  
Did you check?

ELIAS shakes his head, picking up his phone and showing it to her. There are no missed phone calls or messages. RUBY groans, and ELIAS laughs again.

ELIAS:  
Am I that bad to be around?

RUBY smiles slightly.

RUBY:  
You're okay.

CUT TO: INT. LIVING ROOM

ELIAS is leaning against the wall, drinking his tea, as RUBY looks around the room.

She stops at a photo of SEBASTIAN RIVERA~~a twenty year old who's making a very serious face at the camera~~which is resting on top of a piano. She turns towards ELIAS.

RUBY:  
Who's this?

ELIAS:  
My brother.

RUBY:  
You don't like him that much, do you?

ELIAS:  
Nope. He's a piece of shit.

RUBY laughs, slightly surprised.

RUBY:  
He's your brother.

ELIAS:  
And he's awful.

RUBY:  
I guess...

She looks at the piano for a moment.

RUBY:  
This is nice.

ELIAS:  
Yeah?

RUBY:  
Mmm. Does your brother play? Is that why his picture's here?

ELIAS:  
Nah, it's there because he's incredibly self~centered.

RUBY laughs, and ELIAS hesitates for a moment.

ELIAS:  
Um. Actually. I play.

RUBY turns towards him, surprised.

RUBY:  
Really?

ELIAS:  
Really.

RUBY:  
[laughing] Just when I think that you can't get any more cliché.

ELIAS:  
[laughing] There's always more.

RUBY:  
Do you play for girls?

ELIAS:  
I don't play for anyone.

RUBY:  
No, come on, you totally do. Play piano for them and then take their photos and seduce them with your artsiness.

ELIAS:  
I'm not like that.

RUBY nods for a long moment, taking a sip of her tea.

RUBY:  
I know.

She looks back at the piano.

RUBY:  
How long have you been playing for?

ELIAS:  
Almost my whole life. My mom taught me.

RUBY:  
Is she good?

ELIAS:  
Yeah. Really good.

RUBY hesitates.

RUBY:  
What do you play?

ELIAS:  
Anything, I guess.

RUBY:  
Like what?

ELIAS:  
Do you want me to show you?

RUBY shrugs.

RUBY:  
Do you want to?

ELIAS:  
Yeah, I mean...I've never really played for anyone, but...I probably should, anyways.

He and RUBY switch places; RUBY near the wall, ELIAS sitting down at the piano. He rests his fingers on the keys, thinking.

ELIAS:  
Do you know any songs?

RUBY:  
My sister used to play.

ELIAS:  
What do you like?

RUBY:  
Um...

She thinks.

RUBY:  
It's pretty basic, but _Clair de Lune_ is my favorite.

ELIAS:  
It's a little basic.

He smiles.

ELIAS:  
But it's my favorite to play.

He takes a deep breath and begins to play _Clair de Lune_ by Claude Debussy, the camera panned towards his face until the song is in full swing.

The camera pans back towards RUBY, who's staring at him, a look of pure wonder on her face.

She smiles as the climax of the song hits, and the camera pans back towards ELIAS for the rest of the song, his face screwed up in concentration. As the song finishes, we pan back to RUBY.

There's a moment of silence before she speaks.

RUBY:  
You're really good.

ELIAS:  
[quietly] Thanks.

An awkward pause. RUBY swallows and opens her mouth to say something before ELIAS'S phone buzzes. He picks it up, looking at the number, and hands it to her.

ELIAS:  
Probably for you.

RUBY takes the phone from him and mouths "Thanks" as she holds it up to her ear.

RUBY:  
Hello?

AKASH (O.S.):  
Rubina? What's wrong?

RUBY:  
Nothing's wrong, Baba, I just lost my things. I couldn't call anyone so I used Elias's.

AKASH (O.S.):  
Who's Elias?

RUBY:  
Um...Graciela's cousin. I came here to check on her and I got stuck here.

AKASH (O.S.):  
You lost your phone?

RUBY:  
No, Juliet has it, she'll give it back to me when we leave on Sunday.

AKASH (O.S.):  
Well...I just got home, but I can come out and get you if you need me too. You're at Graciela's?

RUBY:  
...yeah. Listen, Baba...

She looks discreetly over at ELIAS.

RUBY:  
I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll walk home in the morning.

AKASH (O.S.):  
You're sure?

RUBY:  
Yeah. See you tomorrow.

AKASH (O.S.):  
Be safe.

RUBY:  
Mhmm.

She hangs up and hands the phone back to ELIAS.

RUBY:  
He's stuck in traffic for a while, won't get here until late. And the rest of my family's asleep.

ELIAS:  
You can just stay here.

RUBY:  
Were you planning on throwing me out?

ELIAS snorts.

ELIAS:  
Yeah. Make you walk home in the dark.

RUBY stifles a laugh, and ELIAS points with his thumb back towards a hallway.

ELIAS:  
My room's back there.

CUT TO: INT. ELIAS'S BEDROOM

RUBY enters a bedroom, which is surprisingly neat. A camera sits on the desk, and there are photos all over the walls.

RUBY:  
You took these?

ELIAS:  
Most of them, yeah. I'll sleep on the couch, I'm just gonna grab my things.

RUBY:  
Why? It's your bed?

ELIAS:  
Do you wanna sleep on the couch?

RUBY:  
We can be mature about this, can't we?

ELIAS:  
I can be _so_ mature.

RUBY:  
I'd like to see you try.

ELIAS laughs.

ELIAS:  
Okay, so...do you want, like, sides or something?

RUBY:  
We can just...I don't know. Use pillows or something. Or not. It's not that big of a deal. Unless you're secretly a huge creep or something.

ELIAS:  
I don't think I am.

He goes to the dresser and opens it, pulling out some clothes.

ELIAS:  
Be right back. Do you want something to change into? I'm pretty sure that I accidentally grabbed one of Graciela's t~shirts when I brought my laundry back last time.

RUBY:  
I'm good. Thanks, though

ELIAS:  
No problem.

He leaves the room, and RUBY drifts towards the photo wall.

There are very few photos of ELIAS, but one stands out from the rest. It's a photo of him from the back, his shadow illuminating with a flashlight against a wall of a house. It's oddly stunning.

She walks back and gets into the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

ELIAS comes back, now wearing shorts and a t~shirt and glasses. He takes off his glasses and folds them, setting them on the dresser, before getting onto the other side of the bed. His eyes are fixed on the ceiling.

ELIAS:  
[abruptly] That one looks like Australia.

RUBY:  
Huh?

He points at a stain on the ceiling, and RUBY laughs.

RUBY:  
It kinda does, you're right.

ELIAS:  
Are you gonna be here for breakfast tomorrow? Before you leave?

RUBY:  
Nah, my parents will want me home early.

ELIAS:  
Got it.

A beat.

RUBY:  
You're kind of a huge cliché, you know.

ELIAS:  
So I've been told.

RUBY:  
But...you know. It's kind of in a good way.

ELIAS smiles.

ELIAS:  
Thanks.

His phone buzzes, and he reaches over to grab it. His eyebrows crease.

RUBY:  
What's wrong?

ELIAS:  
Nothing's wrong, it's just that...

He smiles slightly.

ELIAS:  
I just got a message from an unknown number. "Hope Graciela's mother is okay with you staying over..."

He trails off.

ELIAS:  
No way.

RUBY:  
_Look~~_

ELIAS:  
Your dad thinks I'm Graciela?

RUBY:  
He would've freaked out if he knew that I was staying over at a boy's house!

ELIAS:  
Nah, I get it. I'll just tell him..."Ruby is actually staying over at Elias's house, who she thinks is the coolest and most talented person on the planet".

RUBY:  
[laughing] _No!_ Just tell him that she's okay with it!

ELIAS taps out something on his phone.

ELIAS:  
Alright. I sent it.

RUBY:  
Thanks.

A beat.

RUBY:  
You are relatively talented, though.

ELIAS:  
So are you.

RUBY:  
What?

ELIAS:  
I mean, Holly's been making a big deal about you singing at the concert, so...you've gotta be pretty good.

RUBY:  
Are you coming?

ELIAS:  
Graciela would slaughter me if I didn't, so...yeah. I'm coming.

He pauses.

ELIAS:  
I'm excited. It sounds like fun.

RUBY:  
It will be.

RUBY closes her eyes, still facing the ceiling, and as ELIAS moves to turn the light off, he stops.

ELIAS:  
Do you think that we're friends?

RUBY:  
I don't know. Do you?

ELIAS:  
I think that we could be.

RUBY smiles, her eyes still closed.

RUBY:  
Then...yeah. We're friends.

ELIAS smiles back.

ELIAS:  
I think I like that.

RUBY:  
Me too.

ELIAS moves towards the lamp and turns it off, the room filling with darkness.

_CUT TO BLACK_

_CUT TO END CREDITS_

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr @iamaconcretewall


End file.
